Central Catholic sizzles in the second half

FOOTBALL – Rams' QB Derek Bowen fires four touchdown passes in 35-14 win over Gresham

By David Ball

The Portland Tribune, Sep 26, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Central Catholic quarterback Derek Bowen gets off a pass before Jarl Otake of Gresham can get to him. Bowen and the Rams won the Mount Hood Conference showdown at Gresham on Friday 35-14.

JIM CLARK / THE PORTLAND TRIBUNE

GRESHAM – Central Catholic found its groove in the second half, scoring 21 unanswered points to dispatch Gresham 35-14 on Friday night.

The teams went into the locker room deadlocked 14-14, but Central quickly asserted itself after the break by putting the ball into the hands of bulldozer Luke Onderko. The senior running back gained 62 yards in the second half, setting the stage for quarterback Derek Bowen to throw for three touchdowns as the Rams pulled away.

“Our coaches challenged the O-line at halftime, and we came out determined to run the ball,” Rams’ coach Steve Pyne said. “Luke did a good job moving the ball and that allowed us to take a couple shots in the passing game.”

Central broke out to a 28-14 lead with an unlikely play late in the third quarter. Bowen took the shotgun snap and quickly had a pair of Gresham lineman bearing down on him. He spun away from traffic and glided toward the sideline waiting for an open receiver. Finally, he lofted a high ball to the back corner of the end zone and 6-foot-5-inch Nate Carr went up for the touchdown catch.

“There was a little confusion on that play and I had guys running the wrong routes,” Bowen said. “I just scrambled around back there and Nate did a great job getting himself open.”

Bowen had just one pass hit the turf in the second half and finished with more than 250 yards through the air.

Gresham drove into Rams’ territory early in the fourth quarter, but Central linebacker Mike Lango sacked Gophers’ QB Mickey Inns on third down to force a punt with 8:27 to play.

The Rams followed with a demoralizing 12-play drive that drained more than five minutes off the clock, sealing the victory when Bowen found Mark Ferguson for a 25-yard TD strike on 4th-and-7.

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit